Howard estate sells for $27.5 million

Anne W. Semmes

Published 11:27 pm, Friday, July 25, 2014

GREENWICH -- The Conyers Farm estate of Ron Howard has sold for its asking price of $27.5 million. The property reportedly went to contract less than two weeks after being put on the market May 2.

The buyer was only the second person to view the property, said Realtor Tamar Lurie, who represented the Howards.

"She came in and said, `Oh my God, I'm in love,' " said Lurie, senior sales associate affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Previews International office in Greenwich. "I knew whoever would buy it would fall in love with the property, the view of the lake and all the things the Howards had built on the property."

The house, on 32 acres with its commanding view of Converse Lake, consists of 23 rooms; six bedrooms; five full and four half baths; a home movie theater; an indoor swimming pool; a 2,500-square-foot guest house; a "sports barn" with tennis court; a horse barn, paddock and riding rings; an observatory silo with Meade telescope; and a greenhouse and gardens.

"The Howards built the house totally for their needs as a family," said Lurie, "When you walk in, that's how you feel it. Everything was done for the Howard family's needs and their enjoyment. They are a beautiful family."

The Howards came to Greenwich in 1985, for the most part to raise their children outside of the show-business bubble. They raised three daughters and a son here, sending them to Greenwich Country Day School. In 1994, they built the 17,200-square-foot, shingle-style mansion on their backcountry property, which they cobbled together from three undeveloped parcels.

"We moved 3,000 miles away from the hub of Los Angeles to raise our family here," Ron Howard, an Academy Award-winning director, as well as a producer and actor, said in a statement when the house went on the market. "Whether we're watching films in our theater, walking the trails throughout our property, star-gazing in our observatory or just relaxing with friends and loved ones by the lake, Cheryl and I feel we've accomplished the goals we set when we began work on this place. Our children are grown, so it's time to move on, but the memories of this very special place will never leave us."

Unlike some celebrities who live here, but never emerge from behind stone walls, the Howards were part of the community during their 23 years in Greenwich.

From time to time they could be seen eating anywhere from Gabriele's Italian Steak House on Church Street or the Ginger Man on Greenwich Avenue to Tomatillo Taco Joint on Railroad Avenue and the Fairways Restaurant at the Griff on King Street.

They spoke at public meetings against plans to install a cellular phone tower at Parkway School in 1990. When a "Go Greener Greenwich Student Environmental Video Contest" was announced in 2009, Ron Howard agreed to be a judge. He did the same for the Junior League of Greenwich's inaugural Greenwich Youth Film Festival three years later.

Nearly 25 years ago, when austerity measures threatened fire station closings, the Howards arranged for proceeds from the first Greenwich showings of his film "Backdraft" to go to the Greenwich Fire Department.

The Conyers Farm community originally was assembled in 1904 by Edmund C. Converse, a founder of United States Steel, who consolidated 20 farms to establish an estate. Converse named the estate Conyers Farm after the Old English spelling of Converse. It was first developed as a community of luxury homes in 1983, maintaining strict zoning, building and environmental regulations.

Past and current residents and current residents include Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, former Knick star Allan Houston, and President Reagan's former budget director, David Stockman.

Assisting in the Howard sale was independent sales associate Lyn Stevens and The Fieldstone Team, affiliated with Sotheby's International Realty -- Greenwich Brokerage, and Steve Sawaii, a business consultant for the Howards who is affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greater Los Angeles.